


Love's like falling (you'll catch me every time)

by Kamidani



Series: A Different Time, A Different Story [5]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: And also a smidgen of protective Roxas which is also my jam, Fluff, Fluff and soft soriku, Hurt/Comfort, I guess? Its of the emotionally variety, I've finally done it, I've finally written kissing, Kissing, M/M, Our favorite dorks being exceptionally sweet and gay, Soriku - Freeform, Take it you thirsty bastards, this is literally just pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 10:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19004080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamidani/pseuds/Kamidani
Summary: Maybe they were right to be afraid of him. He hadn't just fallen to darkness, he'd called out for it, used it when his heart was weak and pain overtook his senses. But that doesn't make him evil, right? That doesn't change the fact that he'd give anything to keep the worlds safe.Sora isn't always sure that he's trusted. But sometimes, he just needs a little reminder that he's loved.





	Love's like falling (you'll catch me every time)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not even sure what to call this? At this point? It starts off with plot and then it turns to softness and by the end it's just. Pure Soriku. There goes any chance of plot development, along with my dignity. And I'm... lowkey kind of terrified of sharing this? I'm really stepping out of my comfort zone, seeing as everything else I've written has been purely gen fic, so comments would be greatly appreciated. I'm not asking for anything horribly in depth, just, maybe keep an eye out for things you liked so I can do more of that in the future? Every little bit helps.

Sora was somewhat aware that he tended to deny certain aspects of his personality. But at the same time, there were certain things that he knew, and accepted, and tried to overcome when he could.

 

One. He was quick to anger. Maybe he'd always been that way, but now he had power to back it, a strength to match the rage that festered in his bones. So he squashed it down when he could, and sought out some Heartless to thrash when he couldn't. He knew it was dangerous if left unchecked, fatal if thrown at the wrong person. So he let it out in fits and bursts when he could to relieve some of the pressure on his heart, but other than that? It was Not Allowed.

 

Two. He was an angry crier. That  _ was _ a recent development. No matter how scared or pissed he had been on his first grand adventure with the Keyblade, he couldn't remember shedding any tears in the heat of the moment. Those were saved for quiet nights when no one else was around, curled up small in his bunk on the Gummiship. But now the tears flowed almost as easily as his anger, and he  _ hated _ that they could be misconstrued for weakness. But that was just how things worked, now, so he did his level best to avoid getting worked up to that level of anger, which was already in line with Truth #1. 

 

Three. Nothing made him angrier than a perceived injustice, whether to himself or to others. He'd fought for a fair, peaceful world for so long, and the thought that even now that unfairness persisted set his blood boiling. But his definition of fair and everyone else's definition didn't always line up, and that accounted for several of his more explosive arguments. He tried to be understanding, he really did, but he wasn't Ven. He wasn't pure light, couldn't just forgive and forget.

 

There was a fourth item on this list, but it was one of those things that he was slightly in denial about. And that thing was that no matter how much his anger festered, all it took was a look or a soft word from Riku to send it fluttering away like nothing more than an errant piece of paper in the breeze. It was almost as infuriating as the original anger, that he was so weak to aquamarine eyes and the way they crinkled at the corners when Riku smiled the way he did, just for him. It was maddening, and so  _ terribly _ endearing.

 

So when Yen Sid told him that this new  _ development _ was enough cause to pause any and all training with the Keyblade until it was resolved, he felt that red haze begin to cloud over his eyes, mindless to the fact that it was a Master he was about to blow up at.

 

The sound of his palms hitting the solid wood of Yen Sid's desk hastily silenced any and all other sound in his humble workspace.

 

"Oh, so now I'm a  _ risk? _ " he snarled, eyes sparking like flint, seeking for tinder to burn. "You're absolutely  _ full _ of bullshit today."

 

"Sora!" Aqua gasped, completely aghast at his outburst, but he didn't even spare her a glance.

 

"You act all high and mighty now like you  _ didn't  _ know that this has been going on for  _ months. _ Don't even try and convince me otherwise, cause I know you keep tabs on everything. Am I really supposed to believe you just somehow  _ missed that?" _ For once, Yen Sid's disapproving frown didn't quell his anger in the slightest. 

 

"Perhaps, before we continue, I should ask the rest of you to leave." Shock rippled through the room.

 

"Absolutely not!" Riku and Roxas shouted in tandem, glancing at each other in wary camaraderie. Riku was the first to shift his gaze back to Yen Sid and continue. "This involves  _ all _ of us, Master."

 

"I'm not going  _ anywhere _ without Sora," Roxas grumbled. "I'm not leaving this room til he does."

 

"I see I must reword that statement," Yen Sid mused. "You are all dismissed. You are free to return to your respective worlds or wait here until Sora and I are finished discussing this." He leveled his gaze on the silent, still assembly, and held up one hand to gesture towards the door. "Either leave, or be removed. Forcibly." 

 

Sora turned to face them, watched the way they all watched him with fear in their eyes.

 

"Just go," he sighed. "I'll be fine. I'll meet you downstairs." Riku's eyes narrowed in displeasure, but he seemed to catch the message that Sora was hiding in his words.

 

_ Let me handle this alone. I don't want you to hear this. _

 

"Fine," he agreed, eyes flicking between Sora and the old Master every few seconds. "But if you take too long I'm coming up here and dragging you home." Sora nodded, smiling thinly, and Riku glanced at the others all standing awkwardly around him.

 

"C'mon, Ven," Terra sighed. "Let's stargaze while we wait." Ven shifted from foot to foot, shoulders high and tense.

 

"I'd really rather sta-"

 

"Ven," Aqua called calmly. "Sora asked us to go. Let's respect that choice." With a sullen look, Ven did so, and so did everyone else until only one other remained in the room.

 

"You listen here," Roxas stated in a voice that was closer to a growl than anything else. "I know you don't like me, or Xion, or anybody else that used to be a Nobody. I know you probably don't care what I have to say now, and I know you probably never will. But know this: if you hurt him," and Roxas leaned forward, eyes sparking with a light that was a little less than human, "then I will make  _ sure _ you regret it." Sora flinched back at the pure vitriol in his voice, eyes wide with shock. Roxas glanced at him as he turned to go, posture stiff with reluctance as he slipped through the heavy doors.

 

Silence reigned in the small room, and Sora suddenly realized how different the atmosphere was. Before, he'd been worried about what the others would think of him when all this came to light.

 

Now? Now he was worried about what Yen Sid would say without having to worry about the reactions of everyone else.

 

"Now then. I can answer your previous question." Sora turned to Yen Sid, his anger no less sharp, but somewhat contained. If there was one thing he was sure of, he knew that he couldn't leave this room while Yen Sid still thought of all this as a weakness. Not with Terra's reputation on the line, too.

 

"I have indeed been aware of your…  _ condition _ , for some time now," Yen Sid agreed amicably, his tone still somehow edged with steel. "However, there were more pressing matters to attend to, and no time to attempt to fix whatever darkness you seem to have allowed to fester in your heart." Sora let out a wordless growl of outrage, which went unacknowledged by the old Master. Of  _ course _ he thought it was some negligence on Sora's part. "Now that Xehanort has been defeated and peace returned to the Realm, we can finally address this problem. Seeing as it has already adversely affected Terra and Riku, we can afford to ignore it no longer."

 

That shouldn't  _ hurt _ , that shouldn't spark such outrage in Sora's heart. But he couldn't help but feel annoyed by Yen Sid's obvious priorities.

 

"Oh, so we can afford to ignore it if it's just me," Sora replied lowly, forcing that anger down. Yen Sid quirked an eyebrow in invitation to continue, though the taut line of his brow betrayed exactly how he felt about Sora's insubordination. "Now that it's Riku, well, of course you're going to do something about it. Punish me, lock me away, call me a monster so you can wipe your hands of the whole mess," he stated. Yen Sid's eyes narrowed dangerously. "But when it was just me, you didn't give a damn. Not even when you think the darkness is this great evil."

 

"And what exactly drives this conclusion?" he questioned sharply. "Seeing as you seem determined to follow this ridiculous line of inquiry."

 

"I'm  _ expendable _ ," Sora hissed. And oh, he wished he could tamp down the ridiculous heat burning in his ribcage, but the events of the past day were swallowing him up whole, leaving his emotions raw and vulnerable. "I'm easily replaced. Hell, even if something happened to me before we beat Xehanort, you had an almost ironclad guarantee that Roxas would show up right then and be able to take my place. You don't care what happens to us. All you cared about was having your pieces to play in Xehanort's game. And now that the game is over, you can throw us away." 

 

"War can not be so simply defined," Yen Sid stated onerously. "You had a task to fulfill, and I felt it unwise to distract you from said task. So far, you have not allowed your tendency towards darkness to sway your view of right and wrong." Sora clenched his fists, fighting the indignation that threatened to sweep away all rational thought.

 

"Light and darkness don't just directly translate to good and evil, though," he reasoned. "They don't work like that. It'd be nice, but it's not that simple, and now that Xehanort's gone we have to face that fact." He lifted his chin, his anger much quieter than before but no less powerful. "You wanna write me off as evil, fine. But you're gonna have to write everyone else off, too. Terra, and Riku, and Aqua, and Vanitas, and every other person who's ever fallen to it. If you're going to stick to some outdated rules of good and bad, then at least be consistent with it." Yen Sid tilted his head and considered this for a moment, his expression remaining as stoic as ever. For just a moment, his eyes softened, and Sora felt a ray of hope.

 

"Perhaps you are right," he admitted slowly. "But the fact remains clearly seen, that you have given in to the darkness on multiple occasions, willingly sought out darkness and drawn it into yourself,  _ broken _ your Keyblade, and then so badly affected Riku that you had to Dive into his heart to remove the darkness that you had put in there. Am I wrong?"

 

"Master, that's hardly a fair interpretation of what happened," Sora began, his anger fading just enough to be replaced by anxiety. "You can't really think that I would intentionally hurt someone, would you?" Sora forced himself to breathe a little. He'd be fine. He knew this discussion had to happen sooner or later. He'd be  _ fine. _

 

"Intentions can be misleading." Yen Sid let his gaze focus on the wall behind them, lost in a bittersweet memory of the past. "Even Xehanort began with good intentions."

 

Sora knew, technically, that his mouth was hanging open, but he wasn't aware enough to do anything about it. Shock and bitter betrayal laced through his veins like iodine, setting every inch of his system burning with shame and disgust. 

 

"Are you saying you think I'm gonna turn out like him?" he whispered, voice thick with the tears that were finally breaking through his defenses. "You think I would- would  _ hurt _ people, would destroy lives, like he did? Do you really think I'm capable of that?" Every word was tense with dread, the rage from before having slipped away completely in the wake of this new, terrifying accusation. Yen Sid closed his eyes, looking like the weight of the world had descended upon him.

 

"That is a question that only time can answer." He set his palms flat against the table. "In the meantime, my previous request still stands. You are  _ not  _ to attempt to find a way to reforge your Keyblade. You are  _ not _ to practice your skills in magic or combat in any way. And you are  _ not _ to pursue this darkness. I will not have your reckless foolishness endanger the worlds a second time." He opened his eyes and pinned Sora under his gaze. "It is one thing to have you running wild with a goal in mind, one that I was sure you would do anything to achieve. It is quite another to leave you with such power on your hands and no purpose to keep you in check."

 

Well, there was no fighting the onslaught of tears now. Sora turned towards the door before Yen Sid could see them, heart thoroughly shattered by the last words he ever expected to hear directed at him.

 

"I did not excuse you!" Yen Sid barked as Sora gripped the handle to the door. Sora shrugged softly.

 

"You've said all you needed to say," he choked out. "I get it, okay? I put your star pupil in danger, I fucked up helping Terra, I've been fucking up since the day I turned into that  _ thing.  _ What more could you possibly want to tell me?" He hung his head, let his forehead rest against the cool surface of the door. He heard a heavy sigh from behind him.

 

"I wished only to inform you that I do not think you are truly capable of any great evil." Sora turned ever so slightly, and regarded the old wizard with tired eyes. Yen Sid looked  _ old _ in that moment, older than he'd ever seen him. "But I lost one friend because we trusted him to be stronger than the forces that pulled at him. Perhaps, if we had been more cautious then, Xehanort would not have grown to be the man you knew." He sighed again, eyes closing against the regret he could see lingering there. "I considered him a friend once, and a good man. I have the same trust in you that I once did in him, to be stronger than the forces that might lead you astray. But I will  _ not  _ risk losing someone to the darkness again. Not when so many suffered because of my blind faith in him."

 

Sora felt any last traces of resentment slip away. He'd known, somewhere in the back of his mind, that Yen Sid had once trained alongside Eraqus and Xehanort. They had been  _ friends _ , once upon a time. But the consequences of such a friendship had flown right over his head, and now he was left feeling sick to his stomach with the knowledge that he had overreacted  _ big time _ .

 

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should have realized… I was entirely out of line. Please forgive my behavior." He stood up straight and bowed, deeply enough that his torso was parallel to the ground.

 

"I certainly do not expect you to piece together tidbits of the past when you have been told so little," Yen Sid informed him gruffly. Sora straightened slowly, watching as the man he'd looked to for guidance for the past year or so looked down in something akin to shame. "My age does not exempt me from making mistakes. Please, forgive my rash behavior as well. You have already achieved much more to conquer the darkness in your heart than Xehanort ever did at your age." He sighed one last time, then waved a hand. "Go. Be with your friends. I think I've done enough for one morning. We can discuss this further once tensions have settled."

 

"Yes, Master," Sora stated in a hollow voice, more out of rote habit than anything else. He turned to go, but before he closed the doors behind him he paused one last time. "For… for what it's worth…" Yen Sid hummed to show he was listening. "I know what it's like to lose a friend to the darkness. And in the end, nothing you do can change that. They have to make the choice to fight it." Sora glanced back with fiery eyes. "None of what happened is your fault. Xehanort made his choice." Sora let the door slip shut behind him, and leaned against it with a shaky exhale.

 

The hall outside Yen Sid's office was achingly empty, and Sora couldn't hear the telltale vibrations that always happened when someone spoke while in the Tower. This place reverberated with magic, and every motion made that magic dance in response. But the air was perfectly still, which meant everyone must have adjourned outside, probably at Ven's request so they could all stargaze. 

 

Sora took the stairs one at a time as opposed to his usual two or three, eyes downcast as he tried to figure out the tangled snarl of emotions swimming in his chest.

 

He was still mad, in some ways. But other than that he was just  _ tired _ . Tired of the fear, the accusations, the lingering bitterness of everything that had happened because one day a man decided that he was the savior the world needed. Tired of being, somehow simultaneously, both the hero people depended on to fix things and also the disappointment who always managed to muck it up along the way.

 

The great doors leading to the outside faced him sooner than he expected, even with his slow, careful pace. Part of him dreaded going out there and seeing the pity on their faces, but the other part of him yearned desperately for company, the extra voices to drown out the one in his head. 

 

Sora ended up compromising. He opened the door just enough to see out, and peered through the door cautiously. Rather than the large group he had expected, he saw only one person, sitting silently on the steps. Sora stepped out on tiptoes, eyes flicking about to try and spot the rest of them.

 

But, no. The whole place was empty, aside from the hunched over silhouette. 

 

"You're too forgiving, you know," said the figure on the steps. Sora let out a quiet sigh.

 

"You're probably the only person to complain about that, Riku," he responded, careful to keep his voice quiet and level. He walked forward and sat next to Riku on the stair, careful to keep his face tilted away. Riku always read him like a book, and as time had passed he'd wished more and more he could hide away from his most perceptive friend.

 

The act never worked on him. Somehow, Riku always knew.

 

"You're not like him," he growled softly. "You're not like Xehanort, and you never will be. You know that, right?" Sora flinched and turned to look at him, heart seething with betrayal.

 

"You heard all that?" he gasped. "How?" Riku, who hadn't yet looked Sora's way, waved a hand, and purplish magic wove around it in ribbons. 

 

"Listening spell," he explained tersely. "I learned it while you were asleep, so I could… even when I was busy doing other things, I could still hear that your heart was beating, that you were breathing okay. It helped remind me of what I was fighting for." He finally glanced Sora's way. "Guess it still came in handy." 

 

"No, it didn't!" Sora screeched, launching to his feet. "I didn't  _ want _ you to hear that! Riku, I trusted you to leave it be! Why would you do that?"  He stalked away, eyeing the edge of the island that the Tower rested on. He had no Keyblade and no Gummiship, which meant this was yet another conversation he couldn't run from.

 

Immediately, Riku's expression shifted from tired anger to bright, searching concern. "Sora, wait. You know I couldn't just leave it alone and let this be  _ another  _ thing you decide never to talk to me about. You're hurting, Sora, and you act like you have to shoulder that burden alone, but you don't."

 

"I already told you I was gonna tell you eventually," Sora grumbled. "I just wasn't ready yet."

 

"And when are you going to be ready this time?" Riku argued. "A month from now? A  _ year _ ? You'd rather lock these things away and never bring them up, but that doesn't work! I know it doesn't, because I've tried that! You can't spend your whole life  _ pretending  _ you're okay."

 

"I'm not pretending anything!" Sora stomped his foot in annoyance. "Keeping things to myself is not pretending, I know perfectly well I've got things to work on." 

 

Riku sighed and drug a hand down his face. "That doesn't mean you're actually handling any of this."

 

"I've got it, Riku!" Sora yelled. "I'm handling it just fine, so  _ leave me alone!" _

 

Sora regretted it immediately, but there was no taking back the words now that they'd been said. Riku stared him down, and his jaw set angrily. Sora winced and braced himself.

 

"You know what I think?" he grit out. "I think you're scared. Scared of admitting that you're not alone anymore." His eyes had gone from soft to ice in the span of a second, and Sora flinched away from the tirade that he knew was coming. "You have Roxas and Ven and Xion, all of whom know you inside and out and love you to death. Aqua and Terra see you as a little brother just like they do with Ven, and even Vanitas gives people dirty looks when he feels like they're not treating you right. Lea is basically our weird fire-obsessed uncle at this point; Hayner, Pence, and Olette haven't stopped scheming ways to get us all to move to Twilight Town. Kairi misses you like crazy, but you never even tried to get in touch with her. You have a whole huge family of people rooting for you, and you have somehow convinced yourself that you don't need any of them!" Sora stared at Riku, scrambling to find words, but Riku wasn't quite finished yet. Abruptly, his voice cracked, and Sora froze in place.

 

"You have me," he whispered. "You've always had me. Doesn't that mean anything?" His eyes were soft again, his fervor from before replaced with soft entreaty. Sora's breath hitched, and he buried his face in his hands. How did he always manage to mess things up?

 

"Of course it does," he mumbled into his hands. "I just don't want to… to weigh you down with my issues." He lifted his head just enough to smile wryly. "You've been busy with more important things."

 

"That's bullshit and you know it," Riku insisted, taking a step closer. Sora took a step back, but Riku wasn't having  _ any _ of it, and with a few long strides he was right next to Sora. "You know that if you asked me to, I would drop everything and be right there with you. There aren't any  _ more important things,  _ Sora. You're it." He glared down at him, and Sora swore he had never felt their difference in height so acutely. With a shaky exhale, he stepped away one last time, turning so he could duck away from Riku's intense gaze.

 

"I can't ask you to do that, Riku." He wrapped his arms around himself. "That's not fair to you."

 

"You are the most  _ stubborn _ -" Riku cut himself off and walked away a few feet, mumbling under his breath. "Come on. Let's get outta here."

 

"Tired of arguing on Yen Sid's lawn?" Sora teased wearily. 

 

"Tired of arguing, period." Riku turned and held out a hand. "Let's go home, Sora."

 

"You realize I don't have much of a choice, right? I broke my Keyblade." Riku shrugged, and his hand dropped a bit.

 

"If… if you'd rather go back to the Land of Departure, then… then I'll take you. But you can't tell me that you don't miss home, 'cause I know you do." Sora hummed in thought, his mouth quirking to one side. Riku leaned forward just a bit. "Please?" 

 

And really, Sora couldn't even try to say no to that. He cursed his weakness for aquamarine eyes, even as his shoulders slumped down in defeat.

 

"Yeah, okay. Let's go home." Despite his acquiescence, Riku's hand remained firmly outstretched, and Sora took it with a put-upon sigh. "I'm not gonna run off, you don't have TO-" Sora nearly choked as he was yanked forward, Riku's fingers tangling firmly around his. With his free hand, he summoned Braveheart, and opened a gate with laughable ease. 

 

"You've, uh, you've gotten better at making portals," Sora mentioned as he was dragged forward.

 

"I've gotten lots of practice," Riku replied snippily, and Sora's mouth clacked shut. A tiny part of him wanted to tear his hand away, insist on getting a lift from someone else. It was the part of him that  _ hated _ losing to Riku, of giving in to him in any way. That part of him had grown smaller and smaller with time, though, until it was nothing more than a forgotten whisper in the back of his mind.

 

It was another one of those things he didn't want to admit, that giving in to Riku was easy as breathing, now. So he fought. He pushed and bickered. And eventually, he'd feel a little less like putty in his best friend's hands. It was ridiculous, he knew, but pride was a hell of a drug.

 

And maybe a different, smaller part of him really liked the smug look on Riku's face when he finally did let him win.

 

Riku disappeared through the portal, and Sora closed his eyes as he was towed through as well, helplessly caught in his wake. It always felt odd going through one of these, no matter whether they were made of darkness  _ or _ light. It was like being cast completely adrift in a waveless ocean, the water so smooth that you couldn't tell where it ended and the sky began. Static danced around you until you couldn't tell if you were surrounded by something or nothing at all, made your hair stand on end and shivers go trickling down your spine. It felt fundamentally  _ wrong _ and yet it had become a routine way to travel for them.

 

It was funny, how the incredible became mundane once you'd seen it often enough.

 

By  the time the static feeling faded and Sora dared to open his eyes, he already knew where they were. The feeling of the ground shifting under his soles and the rhythmic crashing at his back told him all he needed to know.

 

Although, when he did open his eyes, it was not to golden sun and blue skies like he expected. Rather, he looked up to see stars smeared across the sky in vibrant clusters. There were no ships dotting the horizon, no raucous gull cries echoing along the shore. There was just the persistent crash and hiss as the waves followed their lonely pattern. The Play Island was cast over in shades of blue, making their old childhood haunt seem new and mysterious all over again.

 

"Oh, I didn't realize it was so late…" Sora breathed, still tripping over his own two feet as Riku tugged him along. 

 

"Actually, it's early." Riku pointed to the east. Way off on the edge of the horizon, a smudge of gold was fighting for dominance with navy blue. Tropical sunrises never lasted long, but they still had a few minutes before the sun made its appearance.

 

"Oh, good, it's not like I'm already running on almost no sleep," Sora grumbled. In response, Riku tugged him closer, and Sora almost fell on his face at the unexpected motion.

 

"Why haven't you been sleeping?" he questioned stiffly, eyes slanting down sideways at Sora. The shorter boy huffed in annoyance and what was turning into plain old exhaustion; he'd gotten naps here and there, but the last few days hadn't exactly been conducive to a full night's rest. Not even just since Terra's loss of control, but earlier as well. He had spent more time staring at the ceiling than he had asleep, and it was all catching up to him in emotional outbursts, and now, bad balance.

 

"If I knew, I would have done something about it," Sora responded just as stiffly. He couldn't help but feel a sense of panic at Riku's bruising grip on his hand. Their fingers were laced together like the couples on the boardwalk would, but it felt more like a prison than an embrace. And as Riku led him past where the shadow of the trees eclipsed the beach, he felt it even stronger. "Where are we going?"

 

"To the top," Riku answered, voice soft against the gentle wash of sound from the forest. Sora very briefly attempted to wiggle free, and was rewarded with another sharp tug. "Nuh uh, you're staying put."

 

"But Rikuuuu," Sora whined, "I'm half asleep, I'm worn out emotionally and physically, and your legs are way longer than mine. I can't keep up and you're gonna make me fall!"

 

Riku did not respond with words. No, his response was to come to an abrupt halt and nearly trip Sora  _ again _ , and then to spin around until he was looking straight down at him. Suddenly, Sora's hand was free.

 

Just as suddenly, his feet were no longer on the ground.

 

Sora let out what could only be described as an indignant squawk as he was lifted up and held securely against Riku's chest. Riku wrapped one arm under his legs, and the other wound just under his shoulder blades. Then, he resumed walking, like he hadn't just started carrying Sora like he would one of his baby cousins back on the main Island.

 

"Put. Me.  _ Down, _ " Sora hissed, once he had gotten over his shock enough to speak. Riku let out a throaty chuckle, and it was probably indicative of a whole different problem that Sora wanted nothing more than to curl up close to his chest and just feel it hum against his cheek. 

 

"You just said you were tired," he pointed out reasonably. "Besides, I used to carry you all the time. You've always been light."

 

"Yeah, when I was  _ six _ ." Sora debated trying to escape, but he was pretty sure that would just make it worse. His dignity couldn't handle getting stuck in a bridal carry if Riku decided that were the more efficient way to go about all this. "I just wanted you to stop yanking on my hand, you stupidly tall jerk." Another chuckle, another temptation squashed way down where it couldn't be used against him.

 

"Well, maybe I wanted to carry you," Riku mused. "Maybe I was getting cold."

 

"You're a terrible liar," Sora laughed. A yawn took him by surprise, meaning he had no warning or defense when the hand supporting his back slid up and pushed his head towards Riku's shoulder. 

 

"You can sleep if you want," Riku murmured. "I promise I won't drop you." Sora, stiff and unsure, with Riku's hand a firm presence on the back of his head, let out one final sigh of defeat.

 

"I know you won't." Almost against his will, he went lax in Riku's grip, his arms curling close to his chest between them. He mindlessly fiddled with one of the buttons on Riku's jacket, his head rising and falling ever so slightly as Riku breathed.

 

For a long while, neither of them spoke, both content to just let the dark and the quiet soothe away the tension from before. Way up in the treetops, the birds began trilling out their morning songs, and here and there the bright flashes of wings could be seen between branches. As Riku ascended up the trail, following signposts that were rotted and grey with age, the air grew lighter, signaling their closeness not only to the peak but the sunrise as well. And all the while, Sora drifted in and out of consciousness. He was too tired to keep his eyes open, but still too riddled with nerves to properly sleep. But Riku's heartbeat under his ear was more soothing than any lullaby, so his traitorous body drifted off every other minute.

 

"Almost there," Riku murmured the next time Sora's eyes fluttered open. Sora forced his eyes to open so he could turn and look out at their new vantage point.

 

The ocean stretched out around them, an endless blue canvas that the sun was itching to spread its golden hues on. Off to the east, that smudge of color had grown into a glow, heralding the dawn's imminent approach.

 

"Best view on the Island," Sora mumbled happily, feeling at least a little restored from his impromptu nap. The best part of this spot was the fact that some genius had hung a hammock up here years ago, and Sora eyed the length of striped fabric with an eager eye. "I call the hammock!"

 

"No you don't!" Riku laughed. "I carried you all the way up here, so I get to make the rules."

 

"You said you wanted to, you cheater," Sora grumbled under his breath, going limp against him again. He didn't even bother to pull his arms up this time, instead letting them dangle at his sides. Riku took them the last few steps to the hammock and somehow, gracefully, carefully, lied down in it without ever shifting his grip on Sora.

 

Sora considered his new position squarely on top of Riku and then decided that there was no way he was getting out of this hammock without falling out of it in his current mental condition. So he stayed put.

 

"See, we both still fit!" Riku gloated. Sora wanted desperately to glare up at him, but that would require sitting up at least a little bit and he was absolutely loathe to put any distance between himself and the pocket of warmth that had built up in the space between them. 

 

"You're so mean. You gotta be so smug about  _ everything. _ " Sora shifted and stretched his legs out so they weren't folded on either side of Riku anymore, and was once again faced with a new revelation.

 

On the bright side, he wasn't so awkwardly curled up anymore. On the less bright side, not only was he lying against his best friend's chest, but now his legs were also tucked neatly between Riku's. He fit there like he'd been born for this moment, trapped between stifled feelings and the sunrise.

 

"Maybe I wouldn't be so smug if you didn't make winning so much fun," he teased. Sora huffed in annoyance, and earned himself another laugh, one that he got to feel and hear up close. It made a warmth spread inside, that  _ he _ did that,  _ he  _ brought that joy to Riku's heart and that sound to his lips. Sora could write  _ sonnets  _ about Riku's laugh, could wax poetic until the sun had danced circles around him and the sea grass had grown up around his footsteps. 

 

"Yeah, well," Sora sighed into the fabric of Riku's shirt, "maybe if you weren't so pretty when you win I wouldn't let it happen so often." Riku's laugh sputtered and died, and Sora immediately felt shame rise up in his throat. Apparently his filter had fucked off alongside any and all brain cells not preoccupied with Riku.

 

"What?"

 

"What?"

 

"No, don't do that," Riku demanded. "You… called me pretty?" 

 

"I called you shitty, actually," Sora groaned. He wanted nothing more than to hide his face and never come out again, but that required cuddling close to Riku, which was not a thing his heart could handle at the moment.

 

"I know what I heard." Riku managed, somehow, to hook a finger under Sora's chin and make him look up, and Sora ended up having to use his elbows to hold himself up where Riku had pulled him. But the hopeful look on his face was too much for Sora's fragile heart, and once again pride got in the way of just saying what he  _ really  _ wanted to.

 

"Well you heard wrong," Sora snarled, fear overtaking rational thought. "Just drop it." Riku's face, though wreathed in shadow, immediately twisted with hurt.

 

"Sora, I know you've had a long day, but you don't have to take it out on me," he murmured. A different kind of shame curled in Sora's heart, and he ducked his head down, away from Riku's searching gaze. The hand that had hooked under Sora's chin shifted down to his hips, and Sora was helpless to resist as Riku snagged a belt loop in the crook of his finger and pulled him up until they were face to face. The hammock tilted dangerously from side to side, the ropes creaking in quiet complaint. "You wanna tell me what's going on? Or are there more secrets you're not ready to tell me yet?" 

 

Yeah, there were secrets. Load and loads of secrets, of a world where Sora had failed, had let everyone fall.

 

Alone, on his knees, tears leaving dark smudges in the dust, and the only thing between him and obliteration being the figure in front of him. Sora hadn't been sure before. But in that moment, there was no mistaking the emotion rising up and choking him in his last moments of life.

 

He loved this boy.  _ God, _ he loved him with every last shard of his glass heart, loved him with every last bit of air in his lungs. Loved him like the fish loved the sea and the birds loved the sky, loved him like he'd break if he didn't have him right there in his life and in his heart.

 

And really, it had brought a whole new meaning to "til death do us part."

 

Riku's hand on his cheek brought him crashing back into the present, and he sucked in a desperate breath. Riku's thumb rubbed soothingly along his skin, and Sora, hopeless lovestruck fool that he was, could do nothing but close his eyes and lean into the pressure.

 

"Hey, easy," Riku whispered, the soothing strokes of his hand a counterpoint to the shaky tempo of his breathing. "Breathe with me, c'mon." Sora couldn't stop the first sob, or the second, or the third. Couldn't stop the tears from finally bursting. But Riku was there, all pure strength under his palms as he shivered with memory and grief.

 

"Why are you," Sora began, sniffling, "why are you so…" 

 

"Don't," Riku murmured. "It's okay, you don't have to talk right now if you don't want to." Sora shook his head and sat up, wiping his eyes furiously.

 

"No, I need to know," he grit out. "Riku, I need you to be honest with me. Do you remember what happened in the Graveyard?" 

 

"Sora? What do you mean, do I remember?" He tilted his head to the side, eyes searching for whatever hidden meaning Sora was looking for.

 

"The demon tide," Sora whispered. "It- you…" He let the words trail away, and looked into Riku's eyes, desperate for even the tiniest hints of recognition.

 

"Sora, you fought back the demon tide with a wave of Keyblades," Riku reminded him, confusion evident in his tone. 

 

Sora sat back with a laugh that edged on hysterical, tilting his head back to look at the lightening sky. He let the echoes fade, swallowed by the never ending song of the waves. 

 

"Never mind," he murmured softly. "It never really happened anyways." Riku's hands came to a rest on his wrists, encircling the slim shape of them with frightening ease. 

 

"I knew you had more secrets," Riku sighed. "But I'm not gonna make you tell them, if you're not ready." He smiled a little, eyes crinkling in the corners in the way that stole Sora's breath (and his heart) every time. Sora let himself be pulled back down until they were nose to nose, and Sora had to lean on his forearms to keep from falling right into Riku's face. 

 

And would that really be so bad? They were already sharing the same space, the same warmth, the same air. Riku already had everything Sora had to give, if he thought to ask for it. He could take it all, and Sora would thank him. Just, take it. Take the whole thing. Take his heart, his hands, his everything, make it better the way he always had, just by being there next to him. Take it all.

 

"I think I might be a little bit broken," Sora confessed into the inches between them. Riku laughed softly, once again letting his hand rest on the curve of Sora's jaw like it pained him to not be touching him in some way. 

 

"I think we can work with that," he promised. Why he was, or for what, Sora wasn't sure, but it  _ felt _ like a promise. But even so, he couldn't let it rest at that.

 

"I don't think I'm the kind of broken that can be fixed." 

 

Riku gazed at him with eyes much wiser than they had any right to be. "Well, that makes two of us," he whispered. Sora let Riku's infectious little smile overtake him too, his lips curling up against his will.

 

And it made sense, didn't it? Their broken pieces all lined up next to each other, all mish mashed and jagged, slotting together so nicely. Like the pieces of a puzzle, or their legs in a hammock. They just… fit.

 

"Riku, I…" Sora let his gaze wander, down to the slope of Riku's neck, the curve of his collarbone, the way his chest rose and fell so evenly beneath him. The great bellows of his lungs, pulling in air and giving out words soft with adoration or harsh with irritated concern, in a voice that made Sora melt every time. 

 

Was it possible to fall in love with a voice? Because if it was, Sora had been doomed for longer than he'd thought.

 

"Can I say something first?" Riku asked him, his soft tone tinged with urgency. Sora blinked, but nodded slowly. Riku beamed at him gratefully, before his expression grew more solemn. "I've got a secret for you, too. One that I've been keeping for a long time." Sora leaned his head to the side ever so slightly, one eyebrow quirking up. As if in a trance, Riku reached up and smoothed it back down with his thumb, snatching his hand back when Sora giggled at him. Sheepishly, he continued. "I, I wanted to tell you earlier, but. It wasn't really the time. And I wanted it to be  _ perfect _ ."

 

Sora snorted in amusement. "What, did you flunk your driver's test? And don't lie, I've seen how you fly the Gummiship." Riku sputtered in indignation, whatever protest he had prepared getting lost between peals of laughter. Sora grinned, and couldn't help but do a victorious little shimmy. He  _ loved _ being the one to make Riku laugh.

 

"Sora, no, it isn't that," Riku gasped, breath still a little shaky. He pinned Sora under a mock glare. "You hush and let me say this." Sora pursed his lips and nodded, eyes sparkling in mischief. He waited until Riku had opened to his mouth to speak, then drew in a comically loud breath before nearly choking on it in laughter as Riku  _ immediately _ glared at him.

 

"Sorry, sorry, kidding! Please, go on," Sora wheezed, letting his head thunk onto Riku's shoulder. Riku waited until he had calmed down and lifted his head again before finally speaking.

 

"I want to see your face for this," he explained at Sora's silent look of confusion. Sora huffed out a sigh, but was finally silent. "There's something I need you to know. About me." He fidgeted a little, his hands coming up to fiddle with the edges of Sora's lapel. "And... in a way, about you, too." 

 

"Whatever it is, I won'- mmph." Sora glared down at the finger that had pressed itself firmly over his lips, while Riku smiled serenely.

 

"Let me finish, Sor." Sora rolled his eyes, but nodded, and the firm pressure faded to a light touch, Riku's thumb ghosting over his bottom lip. But, oddly enough, Riku didn't seem at all concerned that he was just casually letting his thumb rest there, and left Sora to have a very quiet internal crisis.

 

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," he began, eyebrows drawing together as he considered his words. "Mostly because for a long time, there's been this thing I  _ really _ wanted. But I wasn't sure if I had done anything to deserve it." Absently, his thumb traced circles over Sora's lip, and the shorter boy quietly lost his mind. "And I recently came to a new conclusion on all of this, and that's that maybe I shouldn't avoid this when it's not just  _ my _ decision to make." He glanced up at Sora through his eyelashes, and in the approaching light of dawn, he looked ethereal. Ghostly, maybe, in the silver light, beautiful in ways that their language just couldn't capture. 

 

Sora wanted to say something, or at the very least stop staring, but his mind had betrayed him. No words, no plans, just him and the erratic heartbeat that threatened to give everything away.

 

"So I have something important to say, Sora," Riku continued, "and I need to know what you think. I need an honest answer, so I can finally stop kicking myself over whether I'm going crazy or not." He sighed, and his eyes drifted shut. "Sora, I-"

 

"Hey," Sora interrupted softly. "Look." Riku blinked his eyes open and followed Sora's gaze, off past the edge of the island. There, at the line where the sea met the sky, a brilliant glow was starting to unfurl. The ocean glowed with a soft luminescence, and the whole Island seemed to hold its breath as it waited for the sun to finally arrive.

 

"Sora, I love you."

 

And the world exploded with color.

 

Pinks, golds, oranges, they all blossomed across the sky as Sora's heart stopped, and it was with eyes dazzled by sunshine that he turned his head to look back at Riku. And Riku just lay there beneath him like he hadn't just shattered every expectation he had of the world, eyes soft with something that Sora had never dared put a name to before.

 

"Oh," Sora breathed, and he knew that his face had to be giving everything away. Knew that every inch of his being had to be emanating love for this glorious boy beneath him. And Riku, damn him, laughed at the awe in his voice and his eyes, and sat up slowly so he could shift Sora into his lap without tipping the hammock. Like this, he could curl his torso over Sora, could make Sora feel every last inch of height between them.

 

"'Oh'?" he echoed teasingly. "Is that all you have to say?" His eyes danced with mirth, and Sora was left with nowhere to go but closer. So he did, burying his face in Riku's jacket and letting out a whine.

 

"You can't just  _ say _ that," he mumbled, face absolutely on fire and shoulders curling in. Riku rubbed a hand up and down his spine, digging into the tension hiding there, though at this point Sora could confidently assume it was just as much an excuse to touch as it was an offer of comfort. 

 

"I've wanted to tell you for a long time," Riku admitted quietly, his chin coming to a rest in Sora's hair. "But I didn't… I felt like I was taking something beautiful and making it dirty. I didn't feel like I'd done anything to deserve you. And then with everything that happened, and the war, and… well, it was just never the right time." 

 

Sora unwound a little from Riku's embrace, just enough so he could look him in the eye. "You deserve  _ everything, _ " he stated vehemently. "I mean- how could you think that- I've done nothing but get mad at you all day! How could you think you don't  _ deserve _ -"

 

"Okay, I got it," Riku laughed, holding his hands up appeasingly. "And hey, you've had a rough day. I don't blame you for being a little moody. You've been forced to hide that for too long anyways." 

 

Sora blinked. "What does  _ that  _ mean?" Riku grimaced and looked away, his expression drawn.

 

"It means… it means I've realized that we all expected the world of you. We all counted on you to be the hero, and to be smiling all the while at the same time. It took me a long time to realize but that wasn't fair to you at all. And you did it anyways, because it was what we needed. And now you act like you're making a mistake every time you get angry, because we've all expected so much for so long." He brushed Sora's bangs away, his eyes shining with regret. "Being angry doesn't make you flawed, it makes you  _ human _ . And I'd much rather you be honest with yourself instead of putting a mask on for our sakes." 

 

"See? I was doomed from the start," Sora sighed. Riku tilted his head questioningly. "You say things like that like it's easy, like it's  _ obvious."  _ He shook his head with a rueful smile, glancing up at him through the bangs that had settled in his eyes again. "Really, I didn't have a choice but to fall in love with you."

 

For a moment, neither of them moved. Sora held his breath, waited for the words to process. Riku had already  _ said _ it, but fear pounded a rhythm next to his heartbeat. 

 

"You love me," Riku whispered. Sora stuttered out a laugh and nodded. "You love me," he repeated, a little louder, shock and glee blooming across his face like the sunrise had bloomed across the horizon just moments before. "You love me!" With an ecstatic whoop, he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Sora. Sora, for his part, yelped and lunged away, unprepared for the sudden onslaught of affection.

 

With a groan and a snap, the hammock twisted upside down and then broke entirely.

 

Sora let out a low groan, muffled by fabric and also the entirety of Riku's weight on his diaphragm. Riku, for his part, was kind enough to prop himself up and let Sora breathe, but his face never got more than a few inches away from Sora's.

 

"Hey," he whispered. "I got something to tell you."

 

"What?" Sora whispered back.

 

"I love you." Sora's face went up in flames, and Riku's grin grew only wider. "I love you, I love you, I  _ love _ you-"

 

"Stoooop," Sora whined, using one hand to cover his own face and using the other to push Riku's away.

 

"I love you," Riku insisted, "and if I'm lucky, I'm gonna kiss you now." Sora peaked out from behind his hand, and gazed up shyly at the taller boy.

 

This was really happening. Sora was here, lying on the ground, stones digging into his back and a gorgeous boy pinning him in with weight and love and adoring words. Riku's hair was falling down around his face, a silver curtain that caught the morning sunlight and turned it into strands of gold. And his eyes, god, they sparkled brighter than any ocean, and if it weren't the cheesiest, sappiest, teen romcom-iest line he'd ever come up with, he'd say that he was drowning in them.

 

"Feeling lucky, Riku?" he breathed, caught up in the light and Riku's chest heaving above him, the world past the hammock still draped over them a forgotten memory. Riku smiled, leaning in close but never breaking eye contact.

 

"Very." He hesitated, a breath away, and his eyes closed. He looked so, so…

 

Scared.

 

Sora couldn't truthfully say he wasn't scared, too. He was terrified, of what this meant, what this would change. But there was one thing he had learned over the years.

 

Even when he was scared, it was easy to be brave for Riku.

 

He carded his fingers through that gold silk hair, brushed it behind Riku's ear and caressed his cheek, drunk on love and maybe a little bit of desperation. He  _ wanted _ this, and finally he could have it.

 

"Well, don't leave me waiting  _ now, _ " he urged, and with one last smitten grin, Riku closed the distance.

 

First kisses were never smooth. Kairi had regaled Sora with enough enraged reviews of cheesy teenage romance for him to know that. But it was Riku pressing his lips to his, and it was Riku surging forward like he was a drowning man and Sora was air. It was Riku holding him still with a desperation as fervent as his own, and no matter how messy or inexperienced they were, it was still better than Sora could have ever dreamed.

 

Riku's lips moved against his, soft, questing, a conversation they'd never had before but that flowed as smoothly as ever. He pressed closer, closer, one hand braced against the dirt by his head, the other tracing maddening little circles on the skin of his hip where his shirt had slipped free. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't hope to keep up with the pace Riku was setting. If this was a race, then he was losing, but losing to Riku had never been so sweet.

 

And, yeah, maybe they got a little carried away. Maybe Sora had to push Riku away just to get a solid breath, and the two of them lay there, gasping and grinning and too overwhelmed to speak. Riku leaned in again, his intentions quite obvious to the boy beneath him who was still trying to recover. Sora placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped his advance. He needed a chance to catch his breath, dammit, and no amount of pretty eyes or kiss bitten lips could convince him otherwise.

 

Riku halted against his palm, and honest to God let out a little wanting  _ whine _ . Sora felt his heart skip a beat. No, no no no. That wasn't  _ allowed. _ That wasn't  _ fair _ , how dare he pull out a sound so damn desperate and endearing all at once.

 

"Give me- a minute," Sora gasped, chest heaving with more than just a lack of breath. "Don't kill me before I get a chance to learn how to kiss properly."

 

"Practice makes perfect," Riku argued breathlessly. "I can help you practice." His voice was so hopeful, his eyes so innocently wide, that Sora couldn't help but laugh.

 

"Oh I don't doubt that," he giggled. "But I would very much like to survive long enough to get there." Riku let out an exaggerated sigh, rolling his eyes even as he smiled.

 

"I guess I'll just have to improvise. How about this?"

 

"Oh no," Sora groaned preemptively.

 

"I'll just have to kiss all the things I love about you."

 

"Oh  _ no, _ " Sora groaned more emphatically. Riku chuckled as he leaned in close, and Sora closed his eyes on reflex. Soft warmth against his eyelid made him giggle again, unsure.

 

"I love your eyes," Riku sighed. "I've never seen anything so blue, and they sparkle when you're excited. It's the cutest thing ever."

 

"Riku, what did I say about not killing me?"

 

"I love your cheeks," Riku said next, pressing a kiss to each with aching tenderness. "The way they scrunch up when you smile, or puff out when you're mad. I never get tired of your freckles, either. I'm gonna count them someday, I promise."

 

"You're ridiculous," Sora sighed, ducking away from the shy little kisses Riku was pressing to his skin between every word. He hummed in agreement, not even bothering to deny it.

 

"I love your nose." Riku kissed it with a loud smack, grinning when Sora groaned in embarrassment again. "You wrinkle it up when you're unhappy, and I always want to kiss it smooth."

 

"If you actually do that, I'm gonna hit you," Sora threatened. Riku kissed it again, his thumb pressing in deeper to Sora's skin and making him gasp.

 

"I love your neck," Riku murmured, lips questing from the tender skin below his ear to his Adam's apple. Sora's breath hitched, mind gone blank at the warm drag of breath across the most vulnerable part of him. "I've dreamed of kissing you speechless for so long."

 

"Well, you're doing a bang up job of that," Sora gasped, breath coming in funny little fits. There was no way Riku didn't feel the way his pulse jumped under his lips, and the smile he pressed to his skin was evidence enough.

 

"You know what else I love?" Riku hummed. Sora let out a questioning sound of his own, and Riku pressed his face into the crook of his neck, taking in one long, slow breath. "I love how strong you are. How you take every single challenge we throw your way and blow us away, every single time. And you never, ever stop smiling, and I love you for it. I love you for always putting others above yourself. For putting  _ me _ above yourself, even though I don't deserve you."

 

"Riku," Sora breathed, awestruck. "I'm only brave because of you." He wove one hand through silver hair, holding him close. "You make me strong. It's never been me." Riku shook his head even as he hid his face.

 

"I don't believe that," he whispered. "But now I can tell you every day how much I love you. Maybe someday I'll convince you of how amazing you are." He lifted his head, though Sora kept his hand in his hair. "I love you."

 

"I-" Sora ducked his head, embarrassed all over again. "I love you too," he mumbled. "I'm not as shameless as you though, so it's a little harder to say."

 

"That just makes it more precious," Riku informed him seriously, earning another bout of giggles. He pressed one last, chaste kiss to his lips. "I'll savor every one."

 

"I believe it." Sora couldn't help the smile on his face, and he had no doubt that his eyes were giving away all of the ooey gooey feelings fighting for dominance in his heart. "So… what does this make us?"

 

"Soulmates?" Riku suggested without missing a beat. Sora reached up and flicked him in the nose, and he scrunched it up in mock distaste. "Fine, boyfriends."

 

"That is only marginally less embarrassing," Sora informed him.

 

"Well, there's a hundred munny word," Riku teased. "You get it from a word-a-day calendar?"

 

"I'm gonna flick you again, but with magic this time," Sora warned. Riku kissed the hand that threatened him, and Sora pulled it out of reach. "Cheater. You just want me to stop complaining."

 

"Oh, that's not cheating." Riku leaned in close. " _ This _ is cheating."

 

And when Riku caught his lips again, Sora found that he really didn't have anything to complain about.

**Author's Note:**

> So it turns out writing kissing is REALLY H A R D, and I will never ever underestimate romance authors ever again. Like, hot diggity damn, I have never been more unsure of a fic in my life. I hope you enjoyed, though, seeing as this was my de-stress fic as graduation rapidly approaches. And to everyone on the Discord, you're all a bunch of filthy enablers and I hope you're happy.
> 
> (If y'all want to see the inspiration for this fic, go check out my fellow writer and partner in crime Peruse. Their newest fic was the start to this whole mess and is objectively much better than this one.)


End file.
